Mediastinal plasmacytoma detected by echocardiography and biopsied with EUS-FNA.

Mediastinal ultrasound is currently being performed by a variety of different practioners but all need to be familiar with major pathology outside their narrow fields. We are reporting the first case where echocardiography led to the discovery of a mediastinal mass which upon endoscopic-ultrasound guided fine needle aspiration biopsy (EUS-FNA) was found to be a plasmacytoma. The differential diagnosis of mediastinal masses is briefly reviewed.

Comparison of spontaneous and induced mutation rates in an immortalized human bronchial epithelial cell line and its tumorigenic derivative.

To determine the relationship between neoplastic transformation and increased genetic instability, spontaneous and induced mutation rates were compared in a nontumorigenic, immortalized human bronchial epithelial cell line (NL20) and a tumorigenic cell line (NL20T) spontaneously derived from the NL20 line. Using the hypoxanthine phosphoribosyltransferase (HPRT) locus as a marker for determining mutation rate, fluctuation analysis was utilized to evaluate the spontaneous mutation rate. Induced mutation rates were determined for each cell line after N-methyl-N'-nitro-N-nitrosoguanidine exposure.

Amifostine, cisplatin, and vinblastine in metastatic non-small-cell lung cancer: a report of high response rates and prolonged survival.

Purpose: Based on preclinical and clinical studies that suggested amifostine may potentiate the effects of cytotoxic drugs, we conducted a phase II trial of amifostine, cisplatin, and vinblastine (ACV) in patients with metastatic non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

Patients And Methods: Twenty-five patients with metastatic NSCLC received amifostine (740 or 910 mg/m2) before 120 mg/m2 of cisplatin on day 1, plus weekly 5 mg/m2 of vinblastine without amifostine. Cycles were repeated every 4 weeks.